Silver halide color photosensitive materials (hereinafter referred to as "photosensitive material") usually comprise, on a support, light-sensitive layers each having a different color sensitivity and each containing a given photographic dye-forming agent. Processes for forming a color photographic image from such a silver halide color photosensitive material can be roughly classified into an additive color process and subtractive color process. In the latter process which is conducted according to a color development method, usually photographic couplers for three colors, i.e. yellow, magenta and cyan, are contained in the photosensitive layers and the sensitive materials are subjected to the color development process with a color developing agent after the imagewise exposure. In the color development process, an aromatic primary amine of the color developing agent is subjected to an oxidative coupling reaction with the photographic coupler to produce an indophenol or azomethine coloring dye.
It has eagerly been demanded to develop such a silver halide color photosensitive material capable of providing a high saturation and a delicate shade or shadow (herein referred to merely as shade) without reducing the color reproduction.
However, it has been thought that increases in both the saturation and the reproduction of the delicate shade cannot be obtained at the same time.
Namely, for increasing the saturation, a coloring dye having unnecessary absorption as small as possible is required, or it is necessary to reduce the unnecessary absorption as much as possible. On the other hand, the unnecessary absorption contributes to the shade formation. When the absorption is reduced as much as possible, the delicate shade cannot be expressed and also a sufficient color reproduction cannot be attained.
Generally, the cyan dye has unnecessary absorption of the magenta component or yellow component, and the magenta dye has unnecessary absorption of the yellow component or cyan component. This deteriorates the color reproduction of an object having a high saturation. In order to overcome the deterioration of the color reproduction due to the unnecessary absorption, a process for improving the interimage or interlayer effect in the development step is employed. However, this process has a problem that a delicate shade cannot be reproduced because the unnecessary absorption which contributes to the shade formation is also suppressed in a high density region, although the color reproduction with regard to the saturation is possible in low and medium density regions.